The new pseudo-thugged out Miley has been percolating for a while; from her
twerking
unicorn suit video to her appearance on stage at a Juicy J show, the former Disney darling seems drawn to specific elements of a specific form of hip-hop. Not socially-conscious hip-hop. Dirty South/crunk hip-hop associated with strip clubs, pimps and drug dealers. Juicy J is formerly of Three 6 Mafia, a group who rose to fame with hits like "Slob On My Knob" and "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp." The track Miley popped her ass to at his show, "Bandz a Make Her Dance," is specifically about hanging out in the company of strippers. Some key lyrics:

Start twerking when she hear her song, stripper pole her income

We get trippy and then some, so nasty when she rollin’

She put that ass up in my hands, I remote control it

[…]

You say no to ratchet pussy; Juicy J can't

Racks er'where, they showin' racks, I'm throwing racks

In the VIP, rubber on I’m stretching that

Rich niggas tippin, broke niggas lookin

And it ain't a strip club if they ain't showin pussy

[…]

She make that ass clap, dancin' like she on a dick

Bring it back I threw a stack, that's one lucky bitch

Up and down she’s going she’s sliding on that pole

Making money, stacking them honey, shawty go

Miley seems to delight in dancing much like these strippers do: Twerking, popping the ass, bending at the waist and shaking her rump in the air. Fun. But basically, she, as a rich white woman, is "playing" at being a minority
specifically
from a lower socio-economic level. Along with the gold grill and some hand gestures, Miley straight-up appropriates the accoutrements associated with certain black people on the fringes of society. (See: "Ratchet Girl Anthem.")

In the video, Miley is seen with her "friends": Mostly skinny white boys and girls who appear to be models. But in a few scenes, she's seen twerking with three black women. Are they also her friends? Or is she just hoping for street cred? Note that she is wearing white, in the spotlight, the star of the video — and they are treated as props, a background for her to shine in front of. We've
tackled
the use
of people of color in the background before; it's a theme that persists, but remains wrong. In a white-centric world, putting white women quite
literally
in the center of the frame while women of color are off to the side is a powerful, disrespectful visual message, and it really must be said: Human beings are not accessories. These women might be her friends, but the general dynamic created is that she is in charge and they are in service to her. Not so far off from Paula Deen's dream dinner party. Remember when Gwen Stefani surrounded herself with Harajuku girls? Margaret Cho, at the time, labeled it a
minstrel show. A really on-the-nose choice of words, since white people have been mimicking black people for fun and profit from Al Jolson to Amos n' Andy to Elvis. Now we have Ke$ha (seen below) and Miley dressing up like they live in the hood. (Do not forget that thanks to her father being a huge star and her time at Disney, Miley has been wealthy
for her entire life.)

There was a time, just over a decade ago, that "ghetto" took off: Everyone was using the word "ghetto," talking about being "ghetto fabulous," and even Carrie on
Sex And The City
was wearing gold nameplate necklaces and earrings of the sort made popular by black women. Now we're seeing the word "ratchet" get tossed around the same way, and the gear associated with "ratchet culture" — gold grills, extensions, long, intricate fingernails, contorting fingers into gang signs — is hip and cool and edgy. (Here
is a good piece explaining how "ratchet" went from an insult to a compliment.)

Let's not get it twisted: The exchange and flow of ideas between cultures can be a beautiful thing. I believe in cross-pollination and being inspired by those whose experience is not like your own. If Miley is inspired by gold teeth and bounce music and has friends who are rappers, that's not a problem. But when she uses these things to re-style her own image, she veers into dangerous territory. If she didn't have the grill, if the black women were integrated throughout the video instead of being segregated to one weird scene, if she hadn't worn that headband… This clip might not have been so problematic.

A Japanese teen wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the logo of a big American company is not the same as Madonna sporting a bindi as part of her latest reinvention. The difference is history and power. Colonization has made Western Anglo culture supreme–powerful and coveted. It is understood in its diversity and nuance as other cultures can only hope to be. Ignorance of culture that is a burden to Asians, African and indigenous peoples, is unknown to most European descendants or at least lacks the same negative impact.

It matters who is doing the appropriating. If a dominant culture fancies some random element (a mode of dress, a manner of speaking, a style of music) of my culture interesting or exotic, but otherwise disdains my being and seeks to marginalize me, it is surely an insult.

Think of Derelicte, or of dressing kids up as "homeless" for Halloween. Inappropriate. Wearing a gold chain isn't blackface, just like buying a turquoise ring in Arizona is not offensive like calling your
panties
"Navajo" or modeling lingerie
in a Native American headdress. But it's important to understand that Miley is very privileged to be able to play dress up and adorn herself with the trappings of an oppressed/minority culture. She can play at blackness without being burdened by the reality of it. A new piece
for Newsweek
reports:

there are more African-Americans in the corrections system today—in prison or on probation or parole—than there were enslaved in 1850.

Miley and her ilk need to be reminded that the stuff they think is cool, the accoutrements they're borrowing, have been birthed in an environment where people are underprivileged, undereducated, oppressed, underrepresented, disenfranchised, systemically discriminated against and struggling in a system set up to insure that they fail. As Sesali Bowen
wrote
for Feministing in March:

But being ratchet is only cool when you do it for fun, not if those are valid practices from your lived experiences […] Folks with certain privilege are willing and able to float in and out of ratchet at will […]

…Pop culture trends like twerking, “aint nobody got time for that,” or even just using the word ratchet to define the wild things that happened at last night’s party are all rooted in someone’s lived experience. Sometimes it’s your lived experience, but if it’s not, please stop for a moment to consider your privilege and what role you may be playing in the appropriation of someone else’s exploitation.

It's worth noting this track — which is chiefly about the joys of dancing like a stripper and doing lines in the bathroom— was written by two men, producers Rock City and Mike WiLL Made It and
originally intended
for Rihanna. (True story: Miley said
to them:
"I just want something that just feels Black.") But blackness is not a piece of jewelry you can slip on when you want a confidence booster or a cool look. And playing at being poor — while earning a profit by doing so — is just distasteful.

Why is it that the only comments displayed are ones that agree with the Author? Some others made a good point but clearly Jezebel hivemind must continue on. Dodai your articles normally rock but this is giving off vibes like the NPR yellow cake article.

If black people dress "preppy" or speak "proper" should we say.. stop appropriating white culture? This is America lots of cultures mooch off of each other. I know my post won't be displayed but at least let the others who are trying to make a civilized argument.
Yesterday 6:12pm

I love how white people and academic black people are pretty much the only ones who get offended by this shit and then feel the need to tell everyone else why they should be offended... You all remind me of church missionaries trying to save my soul from sin.
Yesterday 7:26pm

Could you expand on that simile? Do they believe they are doing good when in fact they are effectively destroying the indigenous culture? Do they think those they are addressing to be incapable of salvation if left to themselves and feel therefore justified in trying to gain control over them? Or are they just bringing up issues that their background makes them sensitive to and are which are hard to discuss without using academic language, and you are hoping that coating your knee-jerk reaction to such things in racially loaded imagery will distract from the lack of reasoning behind it?
Yesterday 9:14pm

Am I the only person who thinks it would be helpful to stop defining racial boundaries in terms of clothing and dance moves and fingernails? Saying "these clothes are for black people," "these dance moves are for black people," "this manicure is for black people" is far more cringe-inducing than a pop star with bad taste.

I kind of wonder what it's like to be a black person who isn't interested in any of those things and have white people constantly telling you that those things are a part of your identity and you should be so attached to them that you get mad when white people try to take them from you.

I imagine it's kind of a magnified version of being in a state other than your home state and and having a local find out where you're from and start talking trash about "your" football team, expecting you to get all up in arms in defense of "your" team, when you really don't give a shit about football.
Yesterday 6:10pm

Lil Debbie is the worst offender of this, ugh. That video of hers where all the black girls dance around her while she awkwardly moves for the camera is so cringe-worthy. Her excuse for using black girls as dance props? "I just showed up, I didn't pick my dancers." Keepin' it real.
Yesterday 5:39pm

You know, Dodai, a Jez article hasn't made me stop and think as much as yours just did in quite a while. I try really hard to examine and check my privilege throughout my daily dealings, but it wasn't until about halfway through your article that I really
got it. So thank you for being clear, measured, and nuanced in your analysis.

Certainly not the first time I've heard or thought about it, but your article was compelling and I'm going to be thinking about the issue of cultural appropriation (vs. cultural appreciation/genuine interest in a facet of another culture) for a while.
Yesterday 5:56pm

I read it the exact same way, though I'm still not sure I get it totally. I understand large parts of it, but there are a lot of nuances here that I'm still trying to tease out. I love reading an article like this before I go home. It gives me so much to think about on the commute (and after).
Yesterday 6:05pm

I like you, Dodai Stewart, but I can't support you this time. You can't have this one both ways: either pop music created by non-dominant cultures is open to enjoyment and emulation by people outside that culture, or it is off limits to anyone not from that background and we therefor can't complain about limited sales and/or industry recognition. It's like when the folks over at Queerty complain that hipsters "stole" camp from gay people. It's not "progressive" in any sense, it's straight up genetic determinism and IMO not something to be proud of.
Yesterday 6:12pm

I often feel uncomfortable whenever the topic of cultural appropriation comes up because I feel so many qualms with the perspective of exclusion. I feel like this article would have been strengthened if she illustrated this statement with examples so that we can more clearly see the distinction. Perhaps then I wouldn't have any reservations.

Let's not get it twisted: The exchange and flow of ideas between cultures can be a beautiful thing. I believe in cross-pollination and being inspired by those whose experience is not like your own.

I'd like to see examples of when it was done right. When is it a beautiful thing, specifically? Can she show us who showed appreciation/inspiration and not appropriation?
Yesterday 7:11pm

If you love a certain type of music and you are an artist, you respect its history and its present day experience. You acknowledge that you love the music and realize that the original culture is not your original culture. You pay homage to those who have come before you. You acknowledge your privilege.

Artistic experimentation is going to happen, no matter what. Sometimes, it will work, and sometimes, it won't, for whatever reason. The important thing is you show respect to the things that you, with whatever privileges you have, cannot fully understand. You acknowledge your place in the scheme of things. Even then, it's a touchy place. Damn it all, it's so awful that it's like this.

Miley has done none of these things. On the flip side, it might be that, like many of her contemporaries, she believes racism is a thing of the past. ::eyeroll:: My class is full of 18 year old persons, including people of color, who tell me this, and become shocked when I show them differently. Those from money will often think dumb things like this. One can only hope she will get a clue at some point and apologize and do it differently.

But, alas, she's not the only one. Johnny Depp's awful Tonto portrayal is an example of this kind of appropriation. It just happens an awful lot.
Yesterday 7:44pm

There was a time when people called out Elvis Presley and the entire rock and roll genre for stealing their sound from black people. And that's not even bringing up the discussion of jazz/race music. Let's not blame Miley for this, really.

Which isn't to say that how she's doing what she's doing isn't despicable. But claiming this started in the late 90s is just silly.
Yesterday 6:22pm

there's a difference between this and Elvis. elvis grew up poor and knowing black people. His parents taught him to treat all people the same, and he loved black culture from an early age. Whatever you think of Elvis, he ws never calculated about it.
Yesterday 8:20pm